Culture
• The culture of a society is its whole way of life, that is, shared
meanings, values, norms and practices which are taught to us
• Culture can differ around the world by religion, music,
language, food etc.- for example the French eat snails whilst
the British eat fish and chips.
• Culture provides us with our identity through socialisation
passed through generations- for example the West value
materialism which encourages us to possess "stuff" from
plasma TVs to designer clothes.
Cultural Diversity
• Cultural diversity describes a society in which many different
cultures exist. For example, in the United Kingdom, the Welsh
have many different customs to the Scottish. In Wales,
people's culture is to celebrate St David's day by dressing up in
traditional costumes and wear daffodils.
• Values can differ within many different cultures in one society.
For example, in Northern Ireland there is a strong religious
value whether it Protestant or Catholic. However, in England
people are deemed to be quite secular.
, • Norms can differ due to cultural diversity. Men wearing kilts in
Scotland on special occasions is a norm within Scottish culture
& the French kiss publicly on the cheek as a greeting gesture.
Cultural Transmission
• Cultural Transmission - a term sometimes used to refer to the
process whereby norms and values are passed on or
transmitted to the next generation.
• This process is done through socialisation within the family,
school, religion and the media e.g. learning to share our toys
with our siblings in our family
• Each culture will pass on different norms and values e.g. eating
with a knife & fork in Western Society whilst in Japan you are
taught to use chopsticks.
Norms
• Norms are the ideas that we have about what is acceptable
behaviour for any situation and act as a guide for example,
queuing for a bus is the appropriate behaviour at a bus stop.
• Social norms provide social control and make social life
predictable. For example, they govern the way we dress and
the way we eat
• A norm does not imply that everyone should follow them all
the time, but that there is widespread agreement that in social
settings, people ought to adhere to certain standards of
behaviour.
Values
• Values are generally ideas which people regard as important,
defining what is worth having and worth striving for. E.g. most
societies place a high value on human life.
• Values influence our norms, about what is correct or
unacceptable behaviour, and are often shared leading to social
order. For example, it is wrong to kill or steal.
• Values can often vary considerably over time and between
cultures. For example, the Japanese value community and
peace far more than any other culture.
Social Mores
• These are our ideas about what is right and wrong for
everybody else as well as ourselves. These are our morals.
• They are the customs and conventions embodying the
fundamental values of a society, for example, not killing or
committing acts of paedophilia.
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